THIBODAUX – Nicholls scored 12 straight points to end the first half then hit timely three-pointers in the second half to fend off any McNeese rally as the Colonels defeated the Cowboys 82-73 in Southland Conference action here Thursday night.
The loss dropped the Cowboys to 10-17 overall and 4-6 in league play while Nicholls improved to 17-9 and 7-2. McNeese will close out its two-week road trip on Saturday at New Orleans.
Christian Shumate led four Cowboys players in double-figures with 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to record his fifth double-double of the season.
Zach Scott contributed with 14 points behind four three-pointers.
Collin Warren added 13 points while
Myles Lewis scored 10.
Brendan Medley-Bacon scored nine points with nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
Ty Gordon paced the Colonels with 31 points, hitting 12 of 21 from the field including 5 of 13 from long range.
After trailing 40-31 at the half, McNeese scored three straight to begin the second half and close the gap to 40-34. Nicholls followed with a 7-3 run to take a 47-37 lead but the Cowboys got a layup from Lewis and a couple of free throws by Scott to cut the gap back to six.
Collin Warren made it a 5-point game following a 3 with 15:22 to play but Gordon responded with a 3 to ignite a 9-0 run as the Colonels built a 58-44 lead with 12:13 to play.
McNeese answered with an 8-0 run of its own and pulled to within 58-52 after a Warren driving layup with 10:06 remaining but Jalen White knocked down a 3 to snap the run.
Scott hit another trey with 9:00 on the clock to pull McNeese to within 63-56 but the Colonels sank another three in response with Ryghe Lyons hitting the basket to make it a 10-point game. McNeese answered with five straight to pull within 66-61 after another 3 by Warren but Lyons responded once again with a 3 to end the Cowboys' run as Nicholls started one of its own with a 10-2 spurt that put it up 76-63 with 3:52 remaining.
After Nicholls lead 13-9 early in the game, McNeese scored 11 straight points ignited by back-to-back three-pointers by
Kellon Taylor and
Collin Warren to put the Cowboys up 20-13 following a
Myles Lewis layup at the 9:59 mark.
Nicholls tied the game at 22-22 but Shumate quickly responded with a 3 and then pulled up for a jumper off a turnover and the lead grew to 27-22 with 6:09 to play.
From that point, the Colonels went on an 18-4 run over the final 5:43 of the half, hitting 8 of 10 from the field and a couple of 3s during the run.
McNeese was 2 for 5 during the Nicholls run and turned the ball over five times. Following Shumate's bucket at the 3:39 mark to pull McNeese to within 31-28, Nicholls scored 12 straight to end the half.
Nicholls shot 51 percent for the game (35 for 69) and hit 8 of 19 for 42 percent from three-point range. The Cowboys connected on 41 percent (25 for 61) and 46 percent (10 for 22) from behind the arc.
The Cowboys held a 46-33 advantage in rebounding and 22-13 on the offensive glass. Nicholls scored 25 points off 19 McNeese turnovers.
